


Henry's Christmas Wish

by psuedo118



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 12:00:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/650301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psuedo118/pseuds/psuedo118
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written during the Great SQ seperation of 2012. Published on my tumblr a while ago. Also written for a challenge on beatthe0dds.</p><p>Preview: “…he can’t seem to forget the holiday tradition of cuddling on the couch and watching A Nightmare Before Christmas together, just him and his mom. This year there would be no stockings, or presents. No, Emma. And no… Mom."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Henry's Christmas Wish

t wasn’t supposed to be like this, Henry thinks to himself, as he glances around the room, with a scowl reminiscent of Regina. He hates this. The curse was supposed to bring them all together. Instead Emma’s still in Fairy Tale land with Mary Mar-Snow. And he’s stuck in Storybrooke, spending Christmas eve at the diner with Grandpa and the rest of Storybrooke’s residents, pretending everything’s normal. It was stupid. Christmas isn’t even celebrated in Fairy Tale Land, at least that’s what he heard Ler-Grumpy moaning about, that this was all for “the kid’s benefit”. He’s guessing that Grumpy was referring to him.  
Except, all Christmas does for Henry is make him think of his mother. No, not Emma. His mom. Regina. The Evil Queen. He keeps trying to remind himself of her evil taint. Only, its Christmas, and she always made it the most spectacular time of year. She’d have carols playing throughout the house, her voice like the lightest of bells in perfect tune, encouraging him to sing along. Stockings filled to the brim, warm fires, and hot cocoa after afternoon snow angels and “Operation Snowman”. She’d bake Gingerbread men and let him decorate them while she stuffed the turkey on Christmas day. Her food was always the best. He can’t think about any of those things now.  
But he can’t help but feel miserable looking around the chilly diner, at the pathetic tree teetering to one side, claw marks from Ruby on one side. He tries to look like he’s enjoying himself for Gramps’s sake. 

Through the drunken haze of the very Merry grown-up’s, he can’t seem to forget the holiday tradition of cuddling on the couch and watching A Nightmare Before Christmas together, just him and his mom. This year there would be no stockings, or presents. No, Emma. And no… Mom. Maybe Gramp’s had told her she wasn’t welcome. The rest of the townsfolk in the diner certainly wouldn’t be overjoyed. Or maybe she laughed in his face when he invited her the little voice inside his head sneered. He felt the pang all the same. He missed her. Desperately.

Besides, if she really loved him that she would have brought Emma and Snow back by now. Back in time for Christmas. That’s the only present he wants from her, he reminds her every time, except, whenever he sees her she seems defeated, distancing herself from him. He can feel it. But he ignores the hurt.

It’s growing late into the evening, when the snow begins to fall again outside. The masses of very Merry townsfolk all head outside. This is the first time they’ve enjoyed themselves in the months, since the curse was broken. They stand outside in a quiet silence, a town simply enjoying the snow as it falls in this Christmas eve. They don’t see the figure in a dark cloak across the street hands and face cast towards the sky a continuous muttering the incantation, bringing forth the snow to fall. It is as she turns to walk away, back to her cold mansion, alone, that Henry sees her. 

He has not hugged or cuddled his mother in many months. But in that moment: in the very snow fall that he knows is a gift from her to him, that Henry is overcome with the need to be near to her. To cuddle into her side, and feel her over-protective arm clutching him to her. And in an instant he is running. Chasing after her as if she is a ghost of Christmas past, destined to disappear for all eternity. He almost bowls her over, when he reaches her, clutching at her, he realises he is sobbing for her. 

After the initial shock, he can feel her arms slide around him, cuddling him to her. He hears the choked back sob, and the softest “Henry” fall from her lips as light as the snowfall swirling around them.   
As he feels her touch a kiss to the top of his head, he feels it. Magic.

A flash of brilliant white light blinds them from inside the diner.

The diner bell chimes.

On the top step, in silhouette two figures emerge, the crowd townsfolk nearest move backwards, still blinded by the white light resonating from within the diner. Charming moves awkwardly closer to where Regina clutches Henry, uncertainty driving him into protection mode.

And then from the figures comes two familiar voices, awestruck in their questioning, “Henry? Regina?” “Charming?”

He can’t help but tear himself away from staring open-mouthed at the sight of his birth mother in tears. Burying his face into his mother’s coat where she still clutches him. He knew she loved him. They were back. He doesn’t move from the tight embrace he’s in, but he’s openly sobbing when he feels Emma wrap her arms around them squeezing tightly. He takes a fortifying breath, excepting his mother to push Emma away with the one arm she is currently removing from around him, not unlike she did that day at the Mine. 

Only, that doesn’t happen. Bewildered, Henry finds himself turning his head slightly, expecting to see his mothers having one of their non-verbal stare-downs again. What he does not expect is for them to have their foreheads pressed against one another, unshed tears in both their eyes. Emma spots him first, a goofy grin across her face as the tears flow freely. 

And it’s a messy half cry-laugh of “Hey, kid.”, that sets his world to right. He can feel his mother stiffen, looking down on him with wide eyes, not certain of his reaction to her and Emma’s display of intimacy that he’s sandwiched between. It’s as she starts to pull back that he says “Merry Christmas Moms.”, and quietly tucks his head against her again, not wanting the embrace to end. 

He doesn’t see the tears that fall rapidly from Regina’s face, or, thank goodness, the quick kiss that Emma can’t stop herself from giving Regina. All he can think is that this has just become the very best Christmas he has ever had. And he’ll never be parted from either of his mothers, ever again.


End file.
